The concept of I Dream of Jeannie is simple. When it was created the social spectrums of 'modern day America' were vastly different in comparison to the spectrums of today. It was unheard of (in respectable houses) for an unmarried man to share a house with a woman. Add that to the aspect of a 'genie' to her 'master' and you spark yet an entirely different chorus of reactions from the feminist movement of the 1960's. During that time the feminist groups were fighting the stigmas and ideals set on women by men since the 'dawn of time.' Being their 'own woman' and making statements such as burning their bra's to show distance from the male ideal of how women should act.

I Dream of Jeannie challenged both of those groups. While Jeannie and Tony were not married four out of the five seasons the show ran, the viewers were never given suggestion to Jeannie and Tony's romantic relationship outside of friendly kiss and adoring gaze. This challenged the social ideals of married and unmarried couples. While it refused to abide by the social morals the show never depicted anything even remotely suggestive.

Not only did 'Jeannie' herself pine for her 'master' for four years, she infuriated feminist leaders of the time. Jeannie was just that, a genie, her master was . . . her master. According to Barbara Eden calling him master was simply a "part of her job, if a woman had opened that bottle, she would have said 'yes mistress' and gone about her routine."

The show had a meaning most feminists of the time did not grasp. Jeannie stayed with Major Nelson because she loved him. She was not a slave, or a servant. In the pilot episode Tony spoke the lines "I'm setting you free," to which Jeannie replied "Thou hast set me free master, now I belong to thee!" To which Tony replied, "No, no you don't understand, I rescued you, you rescued me, we're even," proving the fact that Jeannie remained with her 'master' because she loved him, not because she was required or obligated to him.

"She was a fish out of water, she was a genie from 2000 B.C. who was released in 'modern day' America, she'd say yes master, but she did what she wanted anyway," - Barbara Eden.

"I wanted a genie unlike any other genies, genies played by burly men like Burle Ives. I wanted a beautiful young blithe girl to pop out of her bottle and say 'what can I do for you master,' it wasn't about liberation or feminism or domination of men over women, it was fantasy, it was comedy, that's why it worked," - Sidney Sheldon creator of I Dream of Jeannie.

"Back in those days we didn't have underlying messages. We weren't trying to suggest anything. All we were trying to do was be funny," - Larry Hagman.

"People read into it what they wanted to read into it. Bottom line was, what you saw was what was happening. We didn't have a hidden agenda, we were just trying to get laughs," - Bill Daily.

The show, it's cast and directors had little mind to the future of pop culture. As they worked each week, filmed the episodes and went about their normal routines, they set the groundwork for a pop culture icon. Now forty years later a little show filmed at the Sunset Gower Studios that did nothing more than tell a story about a genie named Jeannie who had been rescued from from a bottle, falls in love with the man who saved her. A fish out of water in the modern world, brilliant in thought, but hasty in action. Her antics caused hilarious reactions from those around her. Her masters befuddled and comical explanations to a superior officer (Dr. Alfred Bellows) which could decide the fate of his life and career were something America grew to love.  

Little did they know, that so many years ago they'd have crafted, polished and presented a pop culture gem to the world. A little show that filmed three days a week which barely squeaked by in ratings found it's place as a beautiful comic reflection of an era in American History that craved for escapism. The same little show that forty-four years later has spawned renewed interest with toys, collectables, books and even websites on the world wide web dedicated to it's lasting presence. A little show called . . . I Dream of Jeannie.